The Last Witch Hunter (Witch Hunters) (6 page)

“That a yes?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes.” She stepped forward to help him up. She couldn’t resist running her hands over his shoulders. They were incredibly broad and packed with hard muscle. What would it be like to have sex with him? To have all that power and strength focused on giving her pleasure? Nikita had a hand on his elbow. She released it as though his skin were on fire. Ronan rose so that he towered over her again and she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. He was huge. He’d probably crush her. Without intending to, her gaze drifted down his long body and paused at the juncture between his legs. Or split her in two. She hadn’t forgotten the feel of him in her hands.

Swallowing, Nikita backed up a step.
His lips curved slowly in a knowing smile. “See you Friday night. I’ll be by at seven.”

Chapter Five

The town of Gray’s Landing had come to view Halloween in much the same light as that town in
Footloose
did dancing. Only they were slightly more tolerant. The Fall Harvest Festival, Ronan explained, had once simply been a Halloween Carnival. Particulars of the event had not changed. They still sold candy apples and decorated the place with hay and pumpkins. But there had been a backlash against Halloween due to misbehaving teens. Halloween pranks were few and far between. High school teens still trick-or-treating was a bigger issue. Many didn’t wear costumes and continued to collect candy late into the night. The town had finally had to establish rules setting age limits for trick-or-treaters. Time ranges for visiting houses were also put in place.

“And then there are the senior citizens who suddenly began saying that it was devil worship. I’m not sure what caused the sudden turnabout. Churches began holding their own parties to keep kids from going out on Halloween. They put on religious plays, play games, and give out candy bags.
”

Nikita had arranged her hair in a braid that rested over her shoulder.
She curled the tip of it around her finger. “It didn’t have anything to do with a coven of witches in their midst, did it?”

“Ha, ha.” Ronan gave her a quick glance out of the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the road. “My family has never done anything to endanger our position in society. My father is a respected attorney and my mom was president of the PTA. Her specialty is apple pie with a crust so buttery and flaky that she could have sold them for a living if she’d wanted to. But all she wanted to do was be a wife and a mother.”

“And they’re both witches?”

“My dad is. My mom isn’t. I might as well tell you now that magic doesn’t run that strong in my family. I do all right but I prefer to work with my hands instead of conjuring the results.”

How ironic, she thought, because his effect on her was nothing short of miraculous. She’d never been
so attracted to a man that she couldn’t ignore it when she wanted. But Ronan seemed to slip under her skin. She found herself thinking about him when she didn’t want to. She’d begun to wonder if he’d placed her under a spell.

“The strongest witch in my family is my Uncle Hugh and his son is a dud.”

“A dud?”

“A non-witch born to two witch parents.”

“Sounds like a great guy. I’ll have to meet him sometime.” 

He growled. “Just for that I should introduce you. All witches aren’t bad and all humans aren’t good.”

“I know that.”

He pulled into a parking lot that was already filled with cars. Red, gold, and orange leaves decorated the glass entryway to a large brick building. Pumpkins sat on bales of hay. Ronan parked. “I don’t know that you do. I bleed red blood just like a human-”

She grinned. “Trust me, I
know
that.”

He gave an exasperated huff and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Damn it. Nikita, you’re my destiny. Like it or not, I’m yours.” His gaze locked with hers and refused to let go.

Nikita’s heart thumped in her chest. She liked the sound of that more than she should. He was so insistent, it was almost enough to make her believe, but of course, it was ridiculous. They would never work. Even if she wanted them to. And she didn’t. Relying on people only led to disappointment. “Ronan, it’s only a matter of time before I leave town. Mrs. Williams could decide to come home any day.”

“And then where will you go?”

“Home.” She shrugged. “Maybe go on a mini vacation.”

“Vacation with me.
”

She choked. “Where did you get the impression that I would be the slightest bit interested in spending time with you?”

“You’re here aren’t you?”

“After you got on your knees and begged me!”

“Yeah, and you liked that so much you were practically eye fucking me when I did it.” She gasped and looked away. He chuckled. “Not going to deny it? Good. I wouldn’t have believed you anyway.”

Her face felt hot with anger and embarrassment. She opened the door and clambered down from his big truck to escape. She heard his door open and close. He reached her and wrapped an arm around her
shoulders before she made it to the entrance.

Ronan paid the entry fee. She could hear country music pumping through the speakers and winced. There were few types of music she didn’t like, but country was right up there at the top. She liked Taylor Swift’s latest album but most would argue that it was closer to pop than country.

“So what do you want to do first?” he asked. “There’s a haunted house-”

“Doubt it’ll be scarier than the house of the witch I met who-”

“There’s a hay ride,” he cut her off abruptly. “We could dance or go get treats. Or we could just mingle.”

She weighed her options. A hay ride sounded messy and it was chilly out. The blouse she wore had long sleeves but they were sheer. Dancing to this music was out. Mingling.
She hadn’t had much call for socializing in the last few years and her social skills had never been up to par. She wasn’t sure she even knew how to do that. “Tell me more about these treats.”

“There are cookies, cake, candy, cereal treats, cotton candy, candy apples.”

“Sounds good.”

He took her hand and led her through one large open room that was being used for dancing and into a smaller room.
Several people had nodded, waved or called out to Ronan as they progressed. A few had glanced at her with questioning looks. Tables lined the walls to the left and the right. Each was covered with food. In the center of the room people stood about talking and eating whatever items they had purchased. “What would you like?”

“Let’s look around.” A walk down the line of tables showed that pumpkin had been used as an ingredient in many of the cookies and cakes. Other than pumpkin pie, Nikita wasn’t crazy about the gourd. “Do the proceeds for this go to a charity?”

Ronan nodded. “It changes yearly. I forget what this year’s cause is.” He stopped to buy both of them cones of cotton candy. Pink for her and blue for him.

“Why, Ronan, I didn’t expect to see you here!”

A leggy blonde and a shorter redhead approached them. The blonde had a wide thin mouth that was currently stretched in a phony smile as she looked from Ronan to Nikita and back again. She clasped Ronan’s wrist and leaned in for a kiss on the cheek that was entirely too close to his mouth. “I haven’t seen you since the night of Tim’s party.” She laughed. “You promised to call. That was weeks ago, you naughty boy.” She shook his wrist playfully. “What have you been up to that’s kept you so busy?”

“Um, you know how it is.”
Nikita hid a smile. Ronan had found plenty of time for her. Sure, he’d considered him a nuisance, but still…. “Vicky, this is Nikita. Nikita this is Vicky and her cousin Sophie.”

“Hi,” Sophie said kindly.

Vicky gave her a slow once over, perusing her from her high heeled boots to the roots of her black hair. With a barely perceptible nod, the other woman immediately returned her attention to Ronan. “Save a dance for me, okay?”

Ronan’s eyes flew to her
s as though to judge her reaction but she only raised her brows. He cleared his throat. “Sure.”

Vicky’s lips spread so wide, Nikita thought it was possible her face would split in two. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said before walking off. She let her fingers linger on Ronan until she was so far away that they dropped off his wrist.

“Ex?”

He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Not exactly.”

“Ah.” Understanding dawned. “A one night stand.”

“No! No, it was nothing like… We kissed once at the party she mentioned. It was a cookout. I’d had a few too many beers. It got late. She’s tall. She’s been after me for a while and she caught me at a weak moment.”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain. You don’t owe me anything.” She turned to head to the next table which featured brownies and blondies.

Ronan grabbed her elbow. “The hell I don’t.”

He didn’t but she didn’t want to argue about it and she didn’t want to dwell on the fact that that hussy had her lips on Ronan. “She left her mark,” she commented casually before moving on to picking out the perfect candy apple leaving Ronan scrubbing at the bright red lipstick on his cheek.

***

Ronan sipped on a cup of apple cider as he watched Nikita make her way to the restroom. His height gave him the ability to see over other people’s heads and he was able to watch her disappear through the doors on the far side of the room. Maybe bringing her here was a mistake. She seemed determined not to enjoy herself. He completely was out of his depth. He’d never had to convince a woman she was his soul mate. He supposed he was spoiled. Women generally liked him. Nikita didn’t like anything or anyone. She was sassy and mean. And, damn, if she didn’t turn him on.

He finished off the cider, crumpled the paper cup and tossed it into a large gray trash bin.

“Nice piece of ass, Big Red. On the small side for someone of your size. If we were fishing, you’d have to throw that one back.”

Ronan glanced
down at his cousin out of the corner of his eye. Brian was a few inches shorter than him. He wore a thick flannel plaid shirt and jeans. His dirty blonde hair was close cropped but there was no hiding the fact that it was already thinning at the top. Brian wasn’t aging well. Though he and Ronan were born within a few months of each other, Brian looked at least ten years older. He was unshaven and had the general appearance of someone who had lived a hard life. It had been months since Ronan had last seen Brian and suddenly he had the misfortune to run into him twice within a week. Declining to discuss Nikita with his cousin, instead he asked, “What are you doing here? This doesn’t seem like your type of event.”

Brian slapped at a bunch of leaves decorating
the edge of a table. “No, shit. The wife got free tickets at work. It was either bring Natalie and the kids or listen to her nagging until my ears fall off. They’re around here somewhere.”

“How old are Lindsay and Logan?”

“Four and five,” Brian snapped. “What do you care? Who’s the girl?”

“A friend. Listen, it was a surprise to see you at Uncle Hugh’s.” Ronan couldn’t forget how upset his uncle had seemed after talking to Brian.

“Why? He’s my father. I have as much right to visit as you do.”

“I wasn’t objecting. It’s just that you’ve never shown much interest since-”

“Shit changes. So she’s a fuck friend or just a friend?”

Ronan gritted his teeth
. It was a small town. He’d heard rumors that his cousin wasn’t faithful to his wife. But it was pointless for him to set his sights on Nikita. She was his and Ronan would make sure he knew it. “She’s my one.”

Brian’s mouth twisted as though he had a bitter taste in his mouth. “Well, isn’t that grand? The world just keeps on giving to you, doesn’t it?”

Ronan frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Let’s see.” Brian stepped close to him so that their chests were practically touching. “You got two parents who think you walk on water. As if that weren’t enough, my own father treats you more like a son than he does me. I’m a dud, married to a nagging slut who got knocked up our first night together. But you, you’re a wizard who finds his perfect woman. Doesn’t sound fair, does it? What have y
ou ever done, what have I ever done, to deserve this?”

To discover that Brian was jealous of him was a surprise.
While he made a decent living, he wasn’t rich. He had a nice house, a big truck, and a flat-screened television that he loved. He’d worked hard for everything he had. As a wizard, he was decidedly mediocre. He did what he needed to protect himself and his home and not much more. No one was to blame for Brian’s unhappiness other than himself. He’d always been selfish and lazy. He didn’t seem capable of keeping a job. He behaved as though the world owed him for being born. As for Natalie, Ronan had been around the couple only on a few occasions. From what he’d observed, their bickering was nonstop. Maybe his cousin had loved her once, but no one had forced him to marry her. And, yes, he was raised by loving parents, but Brian’s dad loved him enough for two parents. If he couldn’t see that, then it was his problem.